Clean water supports resilience in the West Bank

oPt | 2023 | CBPF

oPt, West Bank. The small community of Qila, in Area C of the West Bank, has faced several challenges in recent decades. Displaced from their land for over twenty years, this Bedoiun community currently live about 12km northwest of Hebron.

Like many communities, Qila lacked basic services and access to decent water and sanitation, leading to disease and difficult living conditions. “I was mostly concerned about the children, who were bitten by bugs attracted by the wastewater and then fell ill,” said Abu Waleed, leader of this community of about 60 people.

With funding from the OPT Humanitarian Fund, Action Against Hunger built a sewage network to connect all the houses to a treatment plant in the nearby town of Kharas.

The organization also opened up a new road for the network and helped renovate the street leading to the community and the treatment plant.

At the heart of this transformation stood Abu Waleed. He worked closely with the organization to ensure the success of the project.

“This project has changed our lives,” he said.

His words echoed the sentiments of the entire community, as the new sewage networks improved their living conditions and provided them with a clean and healthy environment to raise their families.

The project also aimed to achieve long-term environmental sustainability. The community are planning to convert sewage sludge into a valuable resource for farming.

This forward-thinking approach has benefited the Qila community and has the potential to positively impact the surrounding areas for the next generation.

More information on the oPT Humanitarian Fund:
https://www.ochaopt.org/page/opt-humanitarian-fund
https://pfdata.unocha.org/

The oPt HF continues to raise funds to support partners via the public CrisisRelief campaign: Help the people of Gaza • (un.org)